Q1) "when it came time to throw in the towel, he demanded a written notice of 30 days. We kept our doors open an additional month just to satisfy this demand."
A1) I assume you did deliver the WRITTEN notice and kept a copy of the notice and DOCUMENTED that it was delivered.
Q2) "Before we managed to get all of our inventory and belongings he barred us from entering the building - keeping nearly sixteen thousand dollars value in personal property - threatening us with trespass and arrest if we tried to take the rest of our things."
A2) Was your business a Corporation or a proprietorship?? If a proprietorship, personal property can be seized for that debt. However, this does NOT mean that the landlord had a valid right to exercise a landlord lien against it.
Q3) "We did owe hime half of one month's rent - but he also claimed we owed him an additional month for failing to give him 30 days notice!! He was out of town when our notice was delivered so he asserts there was not an adequate notification."
A3) Key here is... what PROOF do you have that you delivered the written notice to him???
Q4) "We did not receive a summons to appear from him or the court in Colorado - although he did deliver it to a relative in California."
A4) Here is your key. See below.
Q5) "Now he has a default judgement against us and i want to know what the rules are for small claims out of state lines. can he or the court enforce the judgement on us in colorado?"
A5) He can certainly make application to domesticate his California judgment to Colorado to attempt to enforce it there. And if he does attempt to domesticate, you can file a "Notice to Vacate" by claiming that the CA judgment is faulty in that you were not legally served with notice of the lawsuit.
Of interest:
"Under the Uniform Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments Act of the State of Colorado, a judgment from other states generally is entitled to full faith and credit for the purpose of enforcement. (C.R.S. 13-53-101 et seq.) Upon the filing of an authenticated copy of the foreign judgment by a judgment creditor or his lawyer, an affidavit setting forth the name and last known post office address of the judgment debtor, and the judgment creditor, payment of a required fee, and the giving of appropriate notice thereof to the debtor at his last known address, the clerk shall enter the foreign judgment and treat it in the same manner as a judgment of the court of the State of Colorado. No execution or enforcement, however, may be issued until ten (10) days after the entry of the foreign judgment. (C.R.S. 13-53-104.) A judgment so filed has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating or staying as a judgment in the Court of the State of Colorado, and may be enforced or satisfied in the like manner. (C.R.S. 13-53-103.)"
Q6) "He has our property valued at more than the judgement issued!"
A6) Valued by whom??? Did you allow for the fact that it has either salvage or auction value only?? Did you allow for the cost of removal and storage?? Etc.
